https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.61.04.23.8159

Polyphenolic Composition, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of Edible and Inedible Parts of Cultivated and Wild Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)

Mirjana Milošević¹, Jelena Vulić^2*, Zoran Kukrić¹, Biljana Lazić¹, Dragana Četojević-Simin³ and Jasna Čanadanović-Brunet²

¹University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Technology, Vojvode Stepe Stepanovića 75, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

²University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia

³Department of Pharmacy, Singidunum University, Danijelova 32, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Article history:

Received: 20 May 2023

Accepted: 24 October 2023

Keywords:

cultivated and wild pomegranate; phenolics; antioxidant activity; antiproliferative activity 

  The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States.

Summary:

Research background. The aim of this study is to determine and compare the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of juices and extracts of the peel, aril and membrane of the cultivated and wild pomegranate fruits.

Experimental approach. The content of total phenols, total flavonoids, total flavonols, total flavan-3-ols and total anthocyanins was determined spectrophotometrically. The individual phenolics were quantified by HPLC. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH and ABTS tests and neutralisation of hydroxyl radical, while the antiproliferative activity was measured in vitro by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay.

Results and conclusions. Total phenolics were statistically highest in wild pomegranate peel extract, expressed in gallic acid equivalents, 340.92 mg/g (p<0.05), while total flavonoid content was the highest in cultivated pomegranate peel extract, expressed in quercetin equivalents, 31.84 mg/g (p<0.05). The sample of wild pomegranate peel extract showed the highest antioxidant activity with respect to free DPPH and ABTS radicals. The samples of cultivated pomegranate peel and membrane extracts had almost identical and the strongest effect on the inhibition of hydroxyl radicals (41.24 and 41.23 μg/mL, respectively). The sample of wild pomegranate peel extract showed the strongest effect on the growth inhibition of all tested tumour cell lines.

Novelty and scientific contribution. In this study, the bioactivity of different parts of cultivated and wild pomegranates was determined and compared. In the available literature, the individual antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of only some parts of the pomegranate fruit was investigated. All parts of the pomegranate fruit were investigated, including the membrane, which was barely analysed in other works. The wild pomegranate has also been less analysed in previous studies. Future research should focus on in vivo studies of the obtained pomegranate samples.